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thekl0wn · 01-31-2008, 01:40 PM

Route #2 -- Building your very own PC!
This is where the true hobby is! Full-on custom PC, made for your vehicle!

I'll give the order, I feel most important on picking out components... BUT I would first think about what options are important to myself...

-Music -- What format? Raw WAV(*.wav). Lossless(*.flac,*.wma,etc). Compressed(*.mp3,*.wma,etc).
-Video -- What format? DVD. MPEG/AVI/etc.
-Monitors -- Just one. Multiple.
-Inputs -- Just the TS. Keyboard. Keypad. Mouse. Remote.
-Sound Quality -- Just tying into the OEM stereo. Going for SQ competions. Looking for better sound than OEM, on a budget.
-Diagnostics -- Are you wanting to monitor/(control) your motor.
-GPS -- Do you need to know where you are or where you're going.
-Processing -- Are you going to attempt to correct the "acoustical incorrectness" of the interior of your vehicle.
-Phone -- Do you have a cool phone and want it to talk to your PC.
-Any other options... There's sooo many other options you could add, which are simply limited to your imagination!

Screen

The screen is the most visible part of the PC, and in most (modern) cases, is the primary interaction with the PC... Therefore, my vote for most important. For the most part when staying in the typical 7-8" range, the resolution isn't going to affect too many of the other choices. Getting into the 10" range, like myself and TonkaDawg's, you're still not hurting too bad. Now, getting into the 15" range like MattMan's, and you could possibly have a bit of an effect on your choice of other parts, namely graphics.

Most modern CarPC's utilize the WONDERFUL technology of the touchscreen (TS). The TS is a blessing, because it means you only have one part to fabricate into the existing interior of your vehicle, rather than your screen, and some form of an input device, which for the most part are bulky and ugly.
Some common brands to look at are:
-Lilliput (cheap but common)
-Xenarc (bit more expensive)
-Shark (cheap housings, but use Samsung panels) what I'm using

Processor

How much power do you really need? For audio playback, you're fine staying well under the Ghz point. I've had DVD playback on a 333Mhz before, and saw no issues on my 10.4", but would want in the 600Mhz range if DVD-playback were something I were actually interested in. If you're getting into the audio-processing via the PC, then you're looking at getting into the dual-core or 2Ghz speeds.

REMEMBER, you ARE limited in speeds in a vehicle... Odds are, it gets hot where you live, and heat = death to a CPU! Also, over-clocking or even working the CPU at high rates will heat it up! Another point to remember is power consumption... Higher speed processors are gonna need more current, and a better power supply.

IMO, you should choose the processing speed after you choose your monitor/display, so that you know what MoBo's to look into, power supplies (PSU), etc. It's a deciding factor on many parts.

MotherBoard

Comes #3 on my list because essentially, it ties everything together. You are faced with options here regarding space, power consumption, audio, video, memory, processor, etc...

If you're just tying into your car's (truck's) OEM head unit, then you should be fine using 1/8" to RCA adaptors straight off the on-board sound, given the on-board chipset isn't total trash... I know a few on here will argue that ALL on-board sound is trash, but for the common consumer, they can get by with it, and upgrade later if they want.

The cabin size of your vehicle will also play a factor in the MoBo selection. In my case, I have an entire custom console to stuff whatever I please into, so I don't have to go with the Micro ATX or Mini ITX form factors... Whereas, if I ever do a PC in my truck it WILL be necessary!

If you're not planning on having a 60" high-def TV in the vehicle with you, then you're probably going to be OK with on-board video... 640X480 and 800X480 are the two most common resolutions which come to my mind that would be ran in this environment... You're not really looking for stunning visual detail, but rather large, bold, easy-to-read.

Sound Card

Here's another area where there's a wealth of options... For the most part, you're going to get what you pay for. In my mind, on-board sound is free. If you were to look at identical MoBo's one with on-board sound and one without, you're not going to see a noticeable difference, and could possibly be more expensive without.

Some will argue this topic, but if your motherboard has S/PDIF out on it, AND you're not doing the processing on the PC, AND you have a processing piece with S/PDIF in, then this is the preferred method... Expensive though...

There's a thread located on FSC dedicated strictly to sound card options: SoundCard Discussion

Power Supply (PSU)

There are quite a few "Smart" PSU's on the market now. By smart, I mean designed for the automobile environment... They're not power inverters like you would run a laptop off of... To me they make no sense. You're converting a 12v DC supply to 120v AC, just so the PC's power supply can convert the 120v AC back to a regulated 12v DC (and 5v DC as well). Why not skip the middle-man and go directly from 12v DC to 12v DC (regulated, plus 5v DC). The "smart" comes in by having startup/shutdown features. Car's cranking the engine is stressful on the electrical system, and would drop the voltage out of the range that the PC requires without the smart-PSU. A smart PSU will also trigger power the PC on or off automatically, for "soft" on/off, versus pulling the power.

Your choice will be narrated by the needed power consumption of the MoBo/CPU combination.

Here's a few options:
DSATX - Offers the "BrainStem", which allows settings to be programmed from the PC itself. (what I'll run)
M2-ATX
OPUS DSX3.120
More...

Other Necessities

Hard Drive - Many valid options:
Internal desktop drives - Can go biggest, cheapest.
External drives - Offer a bit more shock protection.
Internal laptop drives - Offer a bit of shock protection & very small size
Solid State drives - Relatively bullet-proof. Expensive!
RAM
It's all MoBo dependent.
512 is the minimum I would recommend for anything running XP, and it only goes up from there!
CD/CDR/DVD/DVDR
Based on your needs, but you're probably gonna need a CD-ROM at minimum.

I/O

Unless there is some feature such as GPS, or a FireWire soundcard, or anything else that is an absolute necessity, then you're I/O options aren't a necessity. Odds are you're going to have multiple USB headers, and most GPS, etc are USB or BlueTooth which can be achieved through a BlueTooth dongle. WiFi is typically achieved from either a PCI or USB connection.

Links:
-Interfacing Hardware Wiki

Operating System & Front End

If you're used to the PC environment, odds are you'll want to run some form of Microsoft Windows... XP being my favorite. BUT, there's also Linux, Unix, etc... And even Mac/Apple!

For front ends, there's a wealth... Some examples would be:
StreetDeck
RoadRunner
CentraFuse
FrodoPlayer
Media Engine
Mobile Impact
More...

Or with decent programming knowledge, you could create your own. I will probably run one of the above first, while developing my own custom player!

01-31-2008, 01:40 PM	#3
thekl0wn Future Dirty Old Man Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: PoCo, IN Age: 27 Posts: 4,714	Re: TruckPC Guide Route #2 -- Building your very own PC! This is where the true hobby is! Full-on custom PC, made for your vehicle! I'll give the order, I feel most important on picking out components... BUT I would first think about what options are important to myself... -Music -- What format? Raw WAV(.wav). Lossless(.flac,.wma,etc). Compressed(.mp3,.wma,etc). -Video -- What format? DVD. MPEG/AVI/etc. -Monitors -- Just one. Multiple. -Inputs -- Just the TS. Keyboard. Keypad. Mouse. Remote. -Sound Quality -- Just tying into the OEM stereo. Going for SQ competions. Looking for better sound than OEM, on a budget. -Diagnostics -- Are you wanting to monitor/(control) your motor. -GPS -- Do you need to know where you are or where you're going. -Processing -- Are you going to attempt to correct the "acoustical incorrectness" of the interior of your vehicle. -Phone -- Do you have a cool phone and want it to talk to your PC. -Any other options... There's sooo many other options you could add, which are simply limited to your imagination! Screen* The screen is the most visible part of the PC, and in most (modern) cases, is the primary interaction with the PC... Therefore, my vote for most important. For the most part when staying in the typical 7-8" range, the resolution isn't going to affect too many of the other choices. Getting into the 10" range, like myself and TonkaDawg's, you're still not hurting too bad. Now, getting into the 15" range like MattMan's, and you could possibly have a bit of an effect on your choice of other parts, namely graphics. Most modern CarPC's utilize the WONDERFUL technology of the touchscreen (TS). The TS is a blessing, because it means you only have one part to fabricate into the existing interior of your vehicle, rather than your screen, and some form of an input device, which for the most part are bulky and ugly. Some common brands to look at are: -Lilliput (cheap but common) -Xenarc (bit more expensive) -Shark (cheap housings, but use Samsung panels) what I'm using Processor How much power do you really need? For audio playback, you're fine staying well under the Ghz point. I've had DVD playback on a 333Mhz before, and saw no issues on my 10.4", but would want in the 600Mhz range if DVD-playback were something I were actually interested in. If you're getting into the audio-processing via the PC, then you're looking at getting into the dual-core or 2Ghz speeds. REMEMBER, you ARE limited in speeds in a vehicle... Odds are, it gets hot where you live, and heat = death to a CPU! Also, over-clocking or even working the CPU at high rates will heat it up! Another point to remember is power consumption... Higher speed processors are gonna need more current, and a better power supply. IMO, you should choose the processing speed after you choose your monitor/display, so that you know what MoBo's to look into, power supplies (PSU), etc. It's a deciding factor on many parts. MotherBoard Comes #3 on my list because essentially, it ties everything together. You are faced with options here regarding space, power consumption, audio, video, memory, processor, etc... If you're just tying into your car's (truck's) OEM head unit, then you should be fine using 1/8" to RCA adaptors straight off the on-board sound, given the on-board chipset isn't total trash... I know a few on here will argue that ALL on-board sound is trash, but for the common consumer, they can get by with it, and upgrade later if they want. The cabin size of your vehicle will also play a factor in the MoBo selection. In my case, I have an entire custom console to stuff whatever I please into, so I don't have to go with the Micro ATX or Mini ITX form factors... Whereas, if I ever do a PC in my truck it WILL be necessary! If you're not planning on having a 60" high-def TV in the vehicle with you, then you're probably going to be OK with on-board video... 640X480 and 800X480 are the two most common resolutions which come to my mind that would be ran in this environment... You're not really looking for stunning visual detail, but rather large, bold, easy-to-read. Sound Card Here's another area where there's a wealth of options... For the most part, you're going to get what you pay for. In my mind, on-board sound is free. If you were to look at identical MoBo's one with on-board sound and one without, you're not going to see a noticeable difference, and could possibly be more expensive without. Some will argue this topic, but if your motherboard has S/PDIF out on it, AND you're not doing the processing on the PC, AND you have a processing piece with S/PDIF in, then this is the preferred method... Expensive though... There's a thread located on FSC dedicated strictly to sound card options: SoundCard Discussion Power Supply (PSU) There are quite a few "Smart" PSU's on the market now. By smart, I mean designed for the automobile environment... They're not power inverters like you would run a laptop off of... To me they make no sense. You're converting a 12v DC supply to 120v AC, just so the PC's power supply can convert the 120v AC back to a regulated 12v DC (and 5v DC as well). Why not skip the middle-man and go directly from 12v DC to 12v DC (regulated, plus 5v DC). The "smart" comes in by having startup/shutdown features. Car's cranking the engine is stressful on the electrical system, and would drop the voltage out of the range that the PC requires without the smart-PSU. A smart PSU will also trigger power the PC on or off automatically, for "soft" on/off, versus pulling the power. Your choice will be narrated by the needed power consumption of the MoBo/CPU combination. Here's a few options: DSATX - Offers the "BrainStem", which allows settings to be programmed from the PC itself. (what I'll run) M2-ATX OPUS DSX3.120 More... Other Necessities Hard Drive - Many valid options: Internal desktop drives - Can go biggest, cheapest. External drives - Offer a bit more shock protection. Internal laptop drives - Offer a bit of shock protection & very small size Solid State drives - Relatively bullet-proof. Expensive! RAM It's all MoBo dependent. 512 is the minimum I would recommend for anything running XP, and it only goes up from there! CD/CDR/DVD/DVDR Based on your needs, but you're probably gonna need a CD-ROM at minimum. I/O Unless there is some feature such as GPS, or a FireWire soundcard, or anything else that is an absolute necessity, then you're I/O options aren't a necessity. Odds are you're going to have multiple USB headers, and most GPS, etc are USB or BlueTooth which can be achieved through a BlueTooth dongle. WiFi is typically achieved from either a PCI or USB connection. Links: -Interfacing Hardware Wiki Operating System & Front End If you're used to the PC environment, odds are you'll want to run some form of Microsoft Windows... XP being my favorite. BUT, there's also Linux, Unix, etc... And even Mac/Apple! For front ends, there's a wealth... Some examples would be: StreetDeck RoadRunner CentraFuse FrodoPlayer Media Engine Mobile Impact More... Or with decent programming knowledge, you could create your own. I will probably run one of the above first, while developing my own custom player! __________________ '96 2wd RCSB -- '99 4wd 4-door Tahoe Last edited by thekl0wn; 02-04-2008 at 10:35 AM.